DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES TRANSPORT AND TOURISM THE EUROPEAN CYCLE ROUTE NETWORK EUROVELO STUDY This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism. AUTHORS Institute of Transport and Tourism, University of Central Lancashire, UK - Richard Weston, Nick Davies, Les Lumsdon, Peter McGrath Centre for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands - Paul Peeters, Eke Eijgelaar, Peter Piket RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Marc Thomas Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Nóra Révész LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN. Translation: DE, FR. ABOUT THE PUBLISHER To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its monthly newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in August, 2012. Brussels, © European Union, 2012. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 2009 study only. DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES TRANSPORT AND TOURISM THE EUROPEAN CYCLE ROUTE NETWORK EUROVELO Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Tourism STUDY Abstract This update of the 2009 study evaluates the challenges and opportunities of developing a cycle tourism network across Europe. It focuses on EuroVelo, a network of 14 long distance routes managed by the European Cyclists’ Federation which is being developed in different countries by a wide range of partners. The study reviews the market for cycle tourism and presents a model of demand for EuroVelo. It also evaluates the recent developments on the Iron Curtain Trail. IP/B/TRAN/FWC/2010-006/Lot5/C1/SC1 2012 PE 474.569 EN The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo ____________________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 5 GLOSSARY 7 LIST OF TABLES 9 LIST OF FIGURES 10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 13 1. INTRODUCTION 17 1.1. Aim and objectives 17 1.2. Cycling in Europe 17 1.3. Sustainable tourism development and cycle tourism 19 1.4. EU tourism policy 20 1.5. EU support for cycle tourism since 2009 22 1.6. Role of EuroVelo 24 1.7. Iron Curtain Trail 26 1.8. Summary 26 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESPONSES FROM CONSULTEES 27 2.1. The cycle tourism market 27 2.2. Motivational factors 38 2.3. Transport modes to the cycle route/destination 43 2.4. Economic impacts 46 2.5. Environmental impacts 55 2.6. Social impacts 66 2.7. Summary 67 3. PUBLIC TRANSPORT INTEGRATION 69 3.1. Introduction 69 3.2. Railways 69 3.3. Travel by long distance coaches 72 3.4. Travel by ferries 73 3.5. Infrastructure 75 3.6. Summary 75 4. EUROVELO: CASE STUDY COLLECTION 77 4.1. Overview 77 4.2. Route Development 78 4.3. Route marketing 89 4.4. Supporting facilities 96 4.5. Monitoring 104 3 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. IRON CURTAIN TRAIL 107 5.1. General description 107 5.2. Development since 2009 108 5.3. Market and volume projections 110 5.4. Public transport inteGration 112 5.5. Environmental impacts 113 5.6. Social impacts 114 5.7. SWOT analysis 115 5.8. Summary 116 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 117 6.1. The volume and value of cycle tourism 117 6.2. Are there key success factors which attract cycle tourists? 118 6.3. Barriers and challenges 119 6.4. Is cycle tourism a sustainable product? 120 6.5. Will EuroVelo add to the potential of cycle tourism? 121 6.6. Potential of the Iron Curtain Trail 121 6.7. Implications for EU policies 121 6.8. Key recommendations 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY 125 ANNEXES 137 Annex 1: Development of national cycle route networks: D-Netz (Germany) 137 Annex 2: A sample of European cycle tour operators and destinations 139 Annex 3: Tourism volumes for several routes and networks 145 Annex 4: Profile of cyclists 147 Annex 5: NUTS Region codes determining the model parameters 149 Annex 6: Bicycle transportation on trains in the EU 151 Annex 7: Summary of carriage of cycles & pricing by airlines 157 Annex 8: Public transport Integration on the Iron Curtain Trail (northern section) 165 Annex 9: NUTS 3 Regions Iron Curtain Trail calculations 169 Annex 10: List of consultees who provided information 173 Annex 11: Overview of ferries 177 Annex 12: Survey of experts on European cycle tourism 183 4 The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo ____________________________________________________________________________________________ LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ADFC German Cyclists’ Federation BMBVS German Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Affairs BMVBW German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing BMWi German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology BMZ German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development CHF Swiss Franc CNL CityNightLine CO2 Carbon dioxide CRDFM Cycle Route Demand Forecast Model (version 0.0.0) DB German National Railways DTV German Tourism Association ECF European Cyclists’ Federation ERDF European Regional Development Fund ESF European Structural Funds EU European Union Fvw Fietsvakantiewinkel (Cycle holiday shop) ICT Iron Curtain Trail MV Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania NMT Non-motorised traffic NRW North Rhine-Westphalia NUTS 3 Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics, developed by Eurostat ÖBB Austrian National Railways PT Public transport RLP Rhineland-Palatinate SBB Swiss National Railways SSM SchweizMobil Foundation 5 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ____________________________________________________________________________________________ SVS Veloland Schweiz Foundation TEN-T Trans European Transport Network TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 6 The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo ____________________________________________________________________________________________ GLOSSARY Cycle Cycle tourism refers specifically to travel between places by Tourism bicycle for leisure purposes. Cycling is an integral part of the tourist experience. Cycle Holidays which are motivated by a desire to cycle, either on a tour holidays or from a base for most of the time away from home. Holiday Holidays which involve some cycling but not entirely and often in cycling association with other activities usually from one base. EuroVelo EuroVelo is a European cycle route network with an aim to offer a sustainable Trans-European Network. It comprises 14 long distance cycle routes which cover about 70,000 km of which approximately 45,000 km are in existence. The network is managed by the European Cyclists’ Federation which is seeking to ensure that all routes offer hiGh standards of desiGn, signage and promotion throughout Europe. Long Long distance cycle routes are those which are designed to distance encourage cycle tourists to travel between locations within a cycle routes country and between countries. They are over 100 km in lenGth but often span more than 500 km. Long distance routes include signage and interpretation to guide cyclists. They are often branded, following a theme, and promoted to various markets by a multiplicity or organisations. Cycle day Leisure or recreational trips from home or holiday accommodation trips involving cycling as an integral part of the day outing. We also refer to these as day excursions. Public The aim of the EuroVelo network is to have easy interchange transport between cycling and other modes of transport, principally tram, integration train, bus and ferry. Ideally, the interchange should be seamless and service facilities available for secure cycle parking and waiting areas. Integration in a wider context refers to connectivity between the tourism and transport sectors in fare and information provision. Slow Travel Slow Travel is a term which refers to the use of sustainable modes of travel, such as the train or coach, to a destination. The visitor is encouraGed to spend more time to experience the cuisine, culture and patrimony of the location preferably travelling on foot, by cycle or public transport. This form of tourism, it is arGued, provides a richer experience for the tourist and a lower environmental impact. 7 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Sustainable Long distance cycle route design should embrace the principles of Tourism sustainable tourism development; cycle tourism planners need to Development be aware of the need to conserve natural assets, to enhance community competences and capabilities and for the need for tourism providers to minimise use of resources and output of waste and pollution. Transport to a route can be one of the main negative environmental impacts and the route design has to be cognisant of this in terms of offering attractive near to home travel and integration of rail, coach and ferry transfers for longer distances. 8 The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo ____________________________________________________________________________________________